When the Mafia's Hacker Wife Strikes

I didn't have the strength to argue with him anymore. I hung up the phone.

But Raphael's words still hung in the air.

How I made it back to the bedroom, I don't know.

Salvatore's death, the family's ruined reputation, the sneering faces of those who once groveled before us. The weight of it all was suffocating me.

The moment the door clicked shut, Raphael pushed it open.

I turned, my eyes filled with despair. "We're here, Raphael. What more could you possibly want from me?"

"Luca has already arranged it with the mayor. Tomorrow, City Hall is holding a public commendation ceremony for Marco."

"And you, as Salvatore's sister, will be there. You will bow deeply and apologize to Chiara and her father. In front of the entire city."

"You will admit that Salvatore was a traitor who colluded with drug dealers and died in a feud."

Raphael closed the distance between us, his fingers tracing the tear tracks on my cheek with a touch as gentle as a caress.

"Of course, my little wildcat, you could always choose to defy me. After all, you're not Salvatore's only living blood relative, are you?"

He pulled out his phone and brought up a security feed from a nursing home.

The old man on the screen was my grandfather, once the most respected old Don in the entire Chicago underworld.

After Salvatore's death, what was left of his health simply gave out. He now survived on a respirator and IV drips.

Even so, his trembling hands clutched a gilded music box. He was mumbling, over and over, "This is a birthday present for my little princess, Catherine…"

I clenched my fists, trying to hold it back, but the tears fell anyway.

After my brother's death, my grandfather was the only family I had left.

And the man standing before me, the man I once thought would protect me for my entire life, was now using my only remaining family to threaten me.

"See? The old Don is sleeping soundly," Raphael murmured, each word a crushing weight.

"But if you don't cooperate… I can't guarantee the security system at the nursing home will keep working for long."

"You're a monster." I raised my hand to slap him, but he caught my wrist in a vise-like grip.

He pinned my shoulder with one hand and seized my chin with the other, forcing my head up to look into his dark green eyes.

His voice was a low taunt. "Is my little princess this fragile? Can't handle a little pressure?"

"Now, tell me," he hissed.

"What will it be tomorrow? Will your grandfather pay for your defiance from his hospital bed? Or will you be the one apologizing to Chiara in front of the whole city?"

My grandfather was my last reason to live. I had to keep him safe.

"I'll do it," I forced the humiliating words past my lips. "I'll go."

Hearing this, Raphael pulled my near-limp body into his arms, stroking my hair.

For a split second, it almost felt like he truly loved me.

"That's my good girl."

"After it's over tomorrow, we'll go see Grandfather together. We'll put the old man's mind at ease."

The next day, the ceremony at City Hall began.

I stood there like a soulless puppet as Raphael and Luca forced me to publicly apologize to Chiara.

To offer my blessings to the junkie who had killed my brother.

The audience was filled not only with ordinary citizens but with representatives from every family.

Their greedy eyes were fixed on me, waiting for the Leone family to finally collapse so they could carve up our territory.

The reporters' questions were sharks in the water, each one more vicious than the last:

"Is it true, Miss Leone, that Salvatore Leone was privately involved in the drug trade? Were you aware of this?"

"An anonymous source claims Salvatore Leone was facing accusations of rape and murder. Is this true?"

"Do you have any comment on the Leone family's financial crisis and the money laundering scandal?"

The flashbulbs were like punches, blinding me with every pop.

The street thugs who ran with Chiara's father whistled lewdly.

"I hear she gets around. Not so pure, that one."

"Look at that dress. Her brother's barely cold, and she's already dressed like a whore. Bet she can't go a night without a man."

I trembled with a rage so pure I wanted to leap off the stage and tear their tongues from their mouths.

But in the next second, Raphael's hand clamped down on my shoulder, and he flashed his phone in front of my eyes, showing the live feed from the nursing home.

I had no choice but to swallow my fury.

Seeing me sway, Chiara moved to "support" me, her fingers digging into my arm like talons.

She leaned in, her voice a triumphant whisper in my ear. "See? A single scar on the right girl is worth more than a princess."

"You were always the spoiled princess. But Raphael and Luca... they have a soft spot for the damsel in distress."

I slowly turned my head, meeting her defiant gaze. "What do you want?" I ground out through my teeth.

"I want…" Chiara's smile was angelic, but her eyes were glacial. "I want you to know that you've lost. And I've won. Everything."

With that, she turned, "accidentally" shoving me. I lost my balance and pitched forward, tumbling down the steps.

The moment I hit the ground, a searing, tearing pain shot through my abdomen.

The crowd swarmed, their jeers turning into a roar:

"Look, she fell! Hahaha!"

"Serves her right! Karma's a bitch, why didn't she break her neck!"

"Trash like that deserves a beating!"

In an instant, the thin line of security broke, and the angry mob surged forward, raining kicks and blows on me.

A warm wetness spread down my thigh, and my blood ran cold. I knew.

It was the secret I'd been keeping. The child I never got to tell him about. The one thing I thought was still ours.

No! Please, no…

"Raphael, Luca, help me…"

"It's our baby…"

But my voice was drowned out by the curses of the crowd.

The last thing I saw before darkness took me was Raphael and Luca, shielding a "frightened" Chiara as they pushed their way out of the mob.

Lying in a pool of my own blood, one hand desperately clutching my stomach, I made a silent vow, each word a shard of ice in my heart.

Raphael Falcone. You will regret this. I will make you.